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New Blog Post Highlights OJJDP’s Community-Based Alternatives to Youth Incarceration Initiative

In a new blog post, OJJDP Administrator Liz Ryan discusses OJJDP’s support of community-based alternatives to juvenile justice facilities, and outlines her key priorities for the office.

“We currently spend an estimated $5 billion per year to incarcerate children,” Administrator Ryan writes. “And research shows that locking up kids doesn’t work. This money is better spent on community-based alternatives, which are safer and more effective and offer youth the tools they need to grow into responsible citizens.” 

The Administrator’s blog post details public support of rehabilitation over youth incarceration and OJJDP’s goal of developmentally appropriate, community-based services for young people.

OJJDP’s FY 2022 Community-Based Alternatives to Youth Incarceration Initiative will support states as they close youth correctional facilities, assess and respond to the impact of closures on facility staff and the surrounding communities, and reinvest state and local resources to support community-based services and supports for justice-involved youth and their families. 

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Date Published: July 13, 2022